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‘Adopt an ebook’ to Preserve Manuscripts

Via The Times of India

PUNE: Book lovers in the city have launched an initiative called ‘Adopt an ebook’ to preserve manuscripts and ancient literature by digitally converting them into ebooks. People who participate in the project will be called ‘parents’ as they will ‘adopt’ these ebooks.
“There are lots of manuscripts, so converting them into the digital format is a huge task. So we have decided to involve the public in this project,” said Mandar Joglekar, founder of Bookganga.com. “Our first goal is to convert old Marathi literature texts into ebooks.”
“Most of these ancient books and manuscripts are in dilapidated condition. Their maintenance is either not possible or is a very costly. So we thought of the idea of converting them into ebooks,” Joglekar said. “These books will be available on various platforms,” he added.
Adopting an ebook is an easy process, Joglekar said. The person who wants to adopt an ebook can select a book on his own or choose from a list available with us. The person will have to pay the cost of converting the book into ebook, which will be named after the person who has ‘adopted’ it. Software professionals based in Pune or the US will convert the book and make it available online. Since this is a low cost affair, people can participate in the project in large numbers.
History scholars said that there is lot of scope for conversion of ancient books into ebooks. Even if we count only Marathi books and manuscripts, the number will go beyond 40,000. If we add old books written in scripts such as Modi, the number will go into a few lakhs. Ancient letters and other official documents can also be preserved in the form of ebook.

Read the entire article here.

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